Synchronizing mechanism



Dec. 27, 1927.

T. L. DOWEY SYNCHRONIZING MECHANISM WMM/ry Patented l1927-.

UNITED sTATEsPATENT OFFICE. c

THMAS 'L DOTFEY, 0F NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR lT0 WESTERN ELECTRICCOMPANY, IN CORPOEATED.' 0F NEW YORK, N. Y., A. CORPORATION 0F NEW YORK.

sYNcHnoNIzING' mncmrsm.

Application led October 16,1924. Serial No. 743,918.

This invention relates to tallring moving picture machines and morepartlcularly to a mechanism used in such machines for changing therelativeposition of the film record with respect to the sound record.

The object of this invention is to provide a synchronizing mechanismwhich will beA efficient, cheap to manufacture and wherein the ilmrecord may be moved in synchromsm with an associated sound record in asimple and positive manner. l

A feature of the invention is to rovide means adapted to be moved inoperab e relation with a gear reversing mechanism for imparting arelativey movement to a film record with respect to an associated soundvrecord in two direct-ions. v

Another' feature is the provision of means whereby the film record ismoved sequential ly in synchronism with the sound record.

Another. feature is the provision of means whereby a `lnormallyineffective rotatable member is moved in position to cause the operationofa Cgear reversing mechanism a dis- Y tance define able member.

Another feature is the provision of means -whereby the gear reversingmechanism is caused to move an angular distance correp-:lnding to thelength of a picture on the Other features of invention 'and advanby themovement of the rotattages will appear from the following de- .Thesynchronizing mechanism shown in A Fig. 1 consists of a driving shaft 10to which a phonograph record (not shown) may be rotatably connected inanysuitable manner.

This shaft is journaled on bearings 34 and 35 formed integrally with thebracket 26. The pinions 11 and 12 are loosel mounted on shaft 10 and areeach provi ed with a toothed clutch portion 13 and 14 disposedinoperable relation with clutchportions 15 and 16 with which they arerespectively aslsociated. 'The clutches 15 and 16 are s1id.

ably keyed on shaft 10 and are each provided with a forked lever 8 and 9which are provided for moving them in and out of engagement from theclutches 13 and 14` through the operation of a mechanism that will behereinafter described. Meshing with pinions 11 and 12 there is provideda inion on one end portion of shaft 21 which is vrotatably mounted inbearing 37 and carries at its opposite end a worm screw 22 disposed in-`operable relation with worm gear 23. This worm gear is securelyvattached to a housing 24' journaled on one end portion of the coaXiallydisposed shafts 10 and 25 and is provided for housing thediferentialmech'- anism D. M. shown in Fig. 1.

The shaft 25 is journaled in the upper portionof bracket 26 and carriesat one end portion a bevel gear 28 which forms part of a differential`mechanism, the function of which will be presently described. The otherend of shaft 25 may be operatively connected to any well known type ofmoving picture 'machine, the picture lfilm of which is to be brought insynchronism'wit-h a sound record which maybe directly connected to theshaft 10. The differential mechanism D. M. generally consists of twobeveled gears 27 and 28 r1gid1 secured on the adjacent end portions of safts 10 and 25 respectively. Each of these gears meshes with twoplanetary gears 29 and 30 which are freely mounted on studs 31 and 32se-` cured tothe housing 24.

Levers 8 and 9 are associated with cams 36 and 37 which are adapted forcontrolling the operation of clutches 15 and 16 respec tively. Cam 37 isrigidly fastened on a. rotatable shaft 38 which may be journaled in anysuitable'bearings (not shown). On one end portion lof shaft 38 there isloosely ioo mounted a pinion 39 which meshes with gear 40 secured on thehousing 24. This pinion has a toothed clutch portion 41 which engages atoothed c'lutch member 42 keyed on the shaft 38 and held in operablerelation with the clutch portion 41 by means of a coil spring 43, whichhas one end portion in abutment with the collar 44.' On the other end ofshaft 38 there is freely mounted a toothed clutch member 45 with which atoothed clutch member 46 is held in operable relation by meansy of coi'lspring 47 which has onel end portion in abutment with the collar 48.Lever 9 and the clutch 16 are normally held in a non-operated positionby means of spring 53 which holds the roller 51 in the recess 49 of cam37 as shown in Figs. -1 and 2. On the clutch member 45 there is securelymounted a handle member 55 adapted to impart a small angular movement tothe cam shaft 38 for a purpose that will be hereinafter described.

Similarly, the cam 36 is mounted on the rotatable shaft 56 which issupported and operable in the same manner asthe shaft 38, it beingsufficient to state for its operation that the toothed clutch members57, 58, 59 and 60 carried thereby are made effective in a directionopposite the corresponding clutch members 45, 46, 42 and 41 on shaft 38.The handle levers 61 and 55 are each held in normal non-operativepositions against the' stops 62 and 63 by means of their respectivelyassociated springs 64 and 65, shown in f Fig. 2. i

'Ihe operation of the synchronizing device is as follows:

Supposing that the shaft 10 rotates in a counter clockwise direction asindicated by the arrow, the shaft 25 is obviously rotated in a clockwisedirection through the differential mechanism D. M. which as stated aboveincludes the bevel gears 27, 28 and planetary gears 29 and 30.VSupposing that it is necessary to move the picture record insynchronism with the sound record -or in other wordsI to change therelative position of Shaft 25 with respect to shaft 10, the handle lever55, for example, is moved into the position indicated by the dottedliney showny in Fig. 2, against the resistance of retracting spring 65.The movement of handle lever 55 and the toothed clutch 45v in operablerelation with its associated clutch -portion 46, rotates the shaft 38and the cam 37 carried thereby, distance. The movement of cam 37 movesthe lever 9 and the continuously driving clutch 16 in operable relationwithA the toothed clutch portion 14 of pinion 12.

Pinion 12 is then rotated in the direction ofthedriving shaft 10, whichin turn rotates the pinion 17 and the gear 19 in the direction indicatedby the arrow. I its movement to gear 20, which in turn,

a small angular Gear 19 transmits 'rotates the housing 24 and theplanetary gears 29 and 30 carried thereby in a clockwise directionthrough `the movement of worm 22 in operable relation with worm gear 23.IVhile the housing is rotated, pinion 27 performs the function of a rackfor planetary the relative position of shaft 25 with respect to shaft 10by advancing the shaft 25, an angular distance equal to twice themovement of housing 24.

The spur gear 40 carried by the housing 24, rotates the pinion 39 whichthrough its engagement with the toothed clutch member 42 keyed on theshaft 38 rotates the Cam 37 until the recess 49 of the cam registerswith roller 51 of lever 9 where clutch 16 is disconnected from the toothportion of pinion 12 through the action of retracting spring 53 thuslimiting the angular movement of housing 24 and the relative movement ofthe shaft 25 with respect to the shaft-10. The lever 55 is returned toits normal position by means of retracting spring 65.

It is obvious that by moving the' clutch 15 in operable relation withthe toothed clutch member 13 of pinion 11, the direction of .movement ofhousing 24 and shaft 25 will thereby he reversed and operated in thesame manner as already described for shaft 38. For this reason, it isnot thought necessary to explain further the operation of this part ofthe synchronizing mechanism.

What is claimed is:

1. In a synchronizing mechanism, a driven shaft, a drivingl shaft, agear reversing mechanism, a pair of independently operable clutchesmounted on said driving shaft for actuating said reversing mechanism anda differential mechanism actuated'by said neversing mechanism forchanging the relative position of said driven shaft with respect to saiddriving shaft. Y

2. In a synchronizing mechanism, a driven and driving shaft, a gearreversing mechanism mounted on one of said shafts, a dil'- ferentialmechanism actuated by said gear reversing mechanism for changing therelative position of said shafts, and means coin- 1 prising cam shafts,operated by the movement of the differential, and a plurality of leversfor controlling the relative angular movement of said shafts.

3. In a synchronizing mechanism, a driven shaft, a driving shaft, aconnection between said driving and driven shafts, one set of meanscooperating with' the connection for advancing the rotation of, one ofsaid shafts relative to the otherl and a second set of means forretarding the rotation of one of said shafts relative to the other andautomatically operable means in each set of advancing and retardingmeans for limiting the extent of the relative movements.

gears 29 and 30 which change nection between the housing andthecamshafts, clutch shifting leversoperating from the cam shafts to shiftthe clutch members into engagement with the loose pinion gears, a set ofgears to carrymovenient of the loose pinion gears to the connectionbetween the driving and driven shafts and move the housing enclosing theshaft and pinion gears and cause movement ,of the driven shaft withrespect to the driving shaft as defined by the extent of movement of thecam shafts.

5. In asynchronizing mechanism for talking moving picture machines,driving and driven shafts, a dierential mechanism for coupling saidshafts, a housing enclosing the differential mechanisln, a normallyineffective gear reversing mechanism carried by the driving shaft, cam.shafts, a gear connection between the housing and the cam shafts, leversoperating from the cam shafts 'to bringt-he gear reversing mechanisminto operation, a gear connection between the gear reversing mechanismand the said differential mechanism to impart movement to thedifferential gear housing and 'to the driven shaft relative to movementof the driving shaft to a degree defined by extent of movement of thecam shafts.

6. In a synchronizing mechanism for talking moving picture machines,driving and driven shafts, a differential mechanism` for coupling saidshafts, a housing enclosing the diderential mechanism, normallyineffective gear changing mechanism carried by the driving shaft, a gearconnection between the gear changing mechanism and the said differentialhousing, cam shafts, a gear connection between the cam-shafts and thedifferential housing, lever arms from the cam shafts to the gearchanging -mechanism to bring the gear changing mechanism into operationto transmit motion of the driving shaft to the differential housing andto l change the speed of rotation of the driven shaft with respecttothev driving shaft; and

manually operable clutches to rotate the cam shafts and predetermine thed1stance the cam shafts will rotate under` the power -transmitted toIthem through the gear connection between the differential housing andthe camshafts. s v

7. In a synchronizing mechanism, the combination of adriving and adriven shaft, va differential mechanism for coupling said shafts, anormally ineffective mechanism for actuating said differential to imparta relative advance movement to said driven shaft with respect to saiddriving shaft, anda normally ineffective mechanism for actuating saiddifferential to decrease the velocity of said driven shaft with respectto said driving shaft, separate means for each of the normally`ineffective mechanisms to render each ofthe mechanisms eifectlve, andauto- ;matic means separate for each of said normally ineffectivemechanisms vfor controlling the effective movement of each :of saidnormally ineffective mechanisms.

`8. In a synchronizing mechanism, continuously rotating driving anddriven shafts, a normally ineective gear train associated 'with saiddriven shaft,'cam shafts, and manbers for moving said clutch-'membersfor causing the operation of said vgear mecha- .nism for changing theposition of said driven shaft with respect to said driving shaft indirections defined by said;` means.`

10. In a synchronizing mechanism, the combination of driving and drivenshafts, a gear train normally ineffective with respect to said drivenshaft, clutch members associated with said gear train and rotating withsaid driving shaft, mechanism individual to each of said clutch membersfor moving each of -said clutch members in position to render said geartrain effective with respect to said driven shaft, and means individualto each of said clutch members operable for controllin the effectivemovement of said gear train to impart a limited relative movement tosaid driven shaft with respect to said driving shaft. A

11. In a synchronizing mechanism, the combination of driving and drivenshafts, a

gear reversing mechanism associated with said driving shaft and normallyineffective with respect to said driven shaft, a pair of clutch memberscarried by said driving shaft of said clutch members into engagementwith A v said gear reversing mechanism for causing nn advance movementof said driven shaft v with respectto said driving shaft, manuallyoperable menneI for in'lparting :t preliminary angular movement to theother of Saul Shafts to bring the other of said clutch members of saiddriven shaft, and indented portions on said 'cams Yfor limiting theadvance and reverse-movements of Said driven Shaft. l* In Witnesswhereof, I hereunto subscribe my naine this 10th day of October, A. D.,

THOMAS L. DOWEY.

